NCLB 101

The No Child Left Behind law (NCLB), also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), is the federal government's largest investment in K-12 education. The Act provides financial assistance to schools educating low-income students. ESEA also provides funding for teacher recruitment and professional development, educational technology, after-school programs, and other purposes.

The original ESEA was signed into law in 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. When the ESEA was last reauthorized by Congress in 2002, the bill that passed was named the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

NCLB made several changes to the previous version of ESEA and requires:

• States to implement statewide accountability systems covering all public schools and students. These systems must include standards in reading and mathematics, annual testing for all students in grades 3-8, and ensure that all groups of students reach proficiency by the 2013-2014 school year.
• Test scores must be broken down into different student groups based on poverty, race and ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency status.
• School districts and schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting the state standards for any of the student subgroups are labeled as "in need of improvement" and required to take certain steps:
1. If a school fails to make AYP for two consecutive years, school districts are required to give all students the option of transferring to a different school.
2. If a school fails to make AYP for a third consecutive year, the district must allow all students to transfer to different schools and provide supplemental education services, such as tutoring, to low-income students.
3. If a school fails to make AYP for a fourth consecutive year or beyond, the school will be subject to tough "corrective actions" such as replacing school staff or significantly decreasing management authority at the school level. If a school continues to fail, the school could ultimately face restructuring, which involves a fundamental change in governance, such as a State takeover or placement under private management.